I was given a large piece of crotch wood from a stately American elm tree that was recently cut down in Grand Marais, Minnesota, to make room for road improvements. The removal of several old elm trees was controversial since there are very few elm trees left on the north shore of Lake Superior due to the Dutch Elm disease. They were landmarks in downtown Grand Marais. The following image shows the 2 ft x 3 ft piece of wood I started with. The image was taken just after I re

Black walnut wood is beautiful but it does not grow in northern Minnesota where I live. A friend brought me some from the Minneapolis area (thanks Jay) and I just turned a medium sized crotch bowl from one of the pieces. The gallery below show some images of the turning. I usually try to turn crotches so the centers (or piths) of the branches are contained in the sides of the bowl. The most interesting wood grain (feather figuring) is usually found in the areas between the br